Music
Elzhi
born 1978 · rapper
Detroit lyricist who sharpened his skills at the Hip Hop Shop, joined Slum Village after J Dilla left and won acclaim for albums such as Elmatic and Lead Poison.
- Born
Detroit, Michigan
age 48- Birth name
- Jason Powers
- Also known as
- eLZhi
- Detroit years
- 1978–present
- Field
- Music
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Jason Powers was born in Detroit and, as a teenager, was a regular at the open-mic nights hosted by Proof at the Hip Hop Shop on West Seven Mile. In 1998 he recorded songs with DJ House Shoes and DJ Rios that became the Out of Focus EP, although the project stalled for lack of distribution. The connection led to his national debut on J Dilla's Welcome 2 Detroit, which brought him his first paycheck from rap. When Dilla left Slum Village, T3 invited Elzhi in, and he rapped on Trinity (2002), Detroit Deli (2004) and Villa Manifesto (2010). As a solo artist he released The Preface (2008), produced largely by Black Milk, and Elmatic (2011), a reinterpretation of Nas's Illmatic with Detroit band Will Sessions. After a long break he returned with Lead Poison (2016), which dealt openly with depression, and later collaborative albums with Khrysis, Georgia Anne Muldrow and Oh No.
Highlights
- Came up through Proof's open mics at the Hip Hop Shop.
- Member of Slum Village, 2002–2010s.
- Solo albums The Preface (2008), Lead Poison (2016), Seven Times Down Eight Times Up (2020).
- Elmatic (2011) reimagined Nas's Illmatic with Detroit's Will Sessions band.
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 1
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Performed here · mid-1990s
The Hip Hop Shop
Closed · 1993–1997
He made numerous visits to the store's open mics hosted by Proof.